Rui Hachimura

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People are treating the NBA Draft like it's the NFL Draft, "just trade down and get 17 2nd round picks!" If Rui was their guy, which it sounds like he was, get him. Don't get cute.

Absolutely. &, it doesn't "sound like" Rui was "their guy." He was. No one else mattered. No need to think any further.

&, above all, don't be like the Boston Celtics, ok? Whatever you do. I mean... in 2017, Danny wanted Jayson Tatum? He was there at #1. Just get him. That's the way you treat the NBA draft, right Raf?

Certainly, don't get cute & trade down! I mean, if you do that you might wind up with Jayson Tatum -- & have 3 R1 picks in 2019, including the Kings R1 pick at #14 which you got by being "cute."

You wouldn't want that, would you? After all what would that do for you? Oh, sure, it would let you trade down again this year from #22 to get #24 & #33. But what's good about that -- just more being "cute?"

& b/c you're still the same idiot no doubt you'll insist on getting "cute" again -- & trade part of what you just got in that trade for a R1 pick next year. Now you're stuck with extra R1 picks again next year.

That's what happens when you don't do the simple thing. Right, Raf? A disaster!

After all, Rui is your guy -- he's your guy because he is the best player available at your pick. & you know he's the best player available at your pick, because... well, isn't it obvious? Because, he's your guy.

So, you know... don't get "cute." Or you might wind up in the kind of mess Danny Ainge is in. Wouldn't want that. Right, Raf?

[ozthegap]

People are treating the NBA Draft like it's the NFL Draft, "just trade down and get 17 2nd round picks!" If Rui was their guy, which it sounds like he was, get him. Don't get cute.

Absolutely. &, it doesn't "sound like" Rui was "their guy." He was. No one else mattered. No need to think any further.

&, above all, don't be like the Boston Celtics, ok? Whatever you do. I mean... in 2017, Danny wanted Jayson Tatum? He was there at #1. Just get him. That's the way you treat the NBA draft, right Raf?

Certainly, don't get cute & trade down! I mean, if you do that you might wind up with Jayson Tatum -- & have 3 R1 picks in 2019, including the Kings R1 pick at #14 which you got by being "cute."

You wouldn't want that, would you? After all what would that do for you? Oh, sure, it would let you trade down again this year from #22 to get #24 & #33. But what's good about that -- just more being "cute?"

& b/c you're still the same idiot no doubt you'll insist on getting "cute" again -- & trade part of what you just got in that trade for a R1 pick next year. Now you're stuck with extra R1 picks again next year.

That's what happens when you don't do the simple thing. Right, Raf? A disaster!

After all, Rui is your guy -- he's your guy because he is the best player available at your pick. & you know he's the best player available at your pick, because... well, isn't it obvious? Because, he's your guy.

So, you know... don't get "cute." Or you might wind up in the kind of mess Danny Ainge is in. Wouldn't want that. Right, Raf?

Someones just having the best day ever!

[tontoz]

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LOL!

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Over in the Wall appreciation thread, I was looking at our salary next year. But, lets look at the roster -- on the assumption that things go really well -- for next year.

Lets assume that Rui becomes, as nate thinks he might, an above average starter at PF - verging on a "star" - in a couple of years. And that Troy keeps developing well & becomes a solid starter at the 3. Of course, we should be confident, at least somewhat, in the continued development of Thomas Bryant.

With all that, we'd have a pretty good starting five, right?

PG -- John Wall
SF -- Bradley Beal
SF -- Troy Brown, Jr.
PF -- Rui Hachimura
C -- Thomas Bryant

Ish will still be with us, presumably (though, really, I hope we move him for a R2 pick at the trade deadline). & Suppose both Isaac Bonga & Jemerrio Jones blossom? We have our backup PG & SF & another 1-3 guy.

We haven't talked much at all about Garrison Matthews, whom we picked up post-draft & who has really good size & shooting skills at the 2. He's a 2-way this year. Maybe by next year, he'll become our backup behind Brad Beal? Then too, we've got both Justin Robinson & Admiral Schofield to work into the mix at the 1 & 2-3.

I don't have any confidence in Mo Wagner either as a 4 or a 5. But... we will have a mid-to-high lottery pick next year. Probably buy a R2 pick as well.

Roster starting to shape up?

[nuposse04]

^This guy needs to post more

Right, Raf is only at 18,500 posts!

Raf got inbetween it lol

[prime1time]

Over in the Wall appreciation thread, I was looking at our salary next year. But, lets look at the roster -- on the assumption that things go really well -- for next year.

Lets assume that Rui becomes, as nate thinks he might, an above average starter at PF - verging on a "star" - in a couple of years. And that Troy keeps developing well & becomes a solid starter at the 3. Of course, we should be confident, at least somewhat, in the continued development of Thomas Bryant.

With all that, we'd have a pretty good starting five, right?

PG -- John Wall
SF -- Bradley Beal
SF -- Troy Brown, Jr.
PF -- Rui Hachimura
C -- Thomas Bryant

Ish will still be with us, presumably (though, really, I hope we move him for a R2 pick at the trade deadline). & Suppose both Isaac Bonga & Jemerrio Jones blossom? We have our backup PG & SF & another 1-3 guy.

We haven't talked much at all about Garrison Matthews, whom we picked up post-draft & who has really good size & shooting skills at the 2. He's a 2-way this year. Maybe by next year, he'll become our backup behind Brad Beal? Then too, we've got both Justin Robinson & Admiral Schofield to work into the mix at the 1 & 2-3.

I don't have any confidence in Mo Wagner either as a 4 or a 5. But... we will have a mid-to-high lottery pick next year. Probably buy a R2 pick as well.

Roster starting to shape up?

It's starting to shape up, but learning from past experience I'd venture to guess that Tommy Sheppard's going to have to make at least one big controversial decision to make us a legit contender. Like how Toronto fired their head coach and traded Derozan. I think that team, assuming everyone pans out is competitive, but then we'd need to go all in and do like a crazy trade where give a 3+ first round picks or something. I could be wrong though. Regardless, being a sports fan, is all about the journey.

[Illmatic12]

Over in the Wall appreciation thread, I was looking at our salary next year. But, lets look at the roster -- on the assumption that things go really well -- for next year.

Lets assume that Rui becomes, as nate thinks he might, an above average starter at PF - verging on a "star" - in a couple of years. And that Troy keeps developing well & becomes a solid starter at the 3. Of course, we should be confident, at least somewhat, in the continued development of Thomas Bryant.

With all that, we'd have a pretty good starting five, right?

PG -- John Wall
SF -- Bradley Beal
SF -- Troy Brown, Jr.
PF -- Rui Hachimura
C -- Thomas Bryant

Ish will still be with us, presumably (though, really, I hope we move him for a R2 pick at the trade deadline). & Suppose both Isaac Bonga & Jemerrio Jones blossom? We have our backup PG & SF & another 1-3 guy.

We haven't talked much at all about Garrison Matthews, whom we picked up post-draft & who has really good size & shooting skills at the 2. He's a 2-way this year. Maybe by next year, he'll become our backup behind Brad Beal? Then too, we've got both Justin Robinson & Admiral Schofield to work into the mix at the 1 & 2-3.

I don't have any confidence in Mo Wagner either as a 4 or a 5. But... we will have a mid-to-high lottery pick next year. Probably buy a R2 pick as well.

Roster starting to shape up?

Assuming we keep the pick whoever we select in the 2020 draft (I’m gonna assume top 10) will likely factor significantly into the rotation or possibly even start.

James Wiseman in yr1 would be a 20mpg backup C. Cole Anthony, Anthony Edwards would have to be backup guards, but boy would it be hard to keep them off the floor for at least 25-30mpg. Scottie Lewis or Deni Advija *could* start at the 3 (both are more athletic and project as better defenders than TBJ). RJ Hampton would be a microwave combo guard with good size, a Caris Levert type.

We also have just short of $20M capspace which I’d offer to Paul Millsap on a 1yr parachute deal. Can backup either PF/C or possibly even start if Hachimura is able to slide to the SF (could be an option if he displays shooting consistency sooner than expected)

Moving forward be trying to win with two veteran guards leading a group of hardworking young guys, not too dissimilar from Portland the last few years. It could go either way but at least the East is forgiving.

[Rafael122]

^This guy needs to post more

Right, Raf is only at 18,500 posts!

Raf got inbetween it lol

I'm crawling back into my hole.

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Right, Raf is only at 18,500 posts!

Raf got inbetween it lol

I'm crawling back into my hole.

Now, come on Raf!! At least you ought to admit that you got that "don't get cute" thing all wrong. Looking at how Ainge operates (& he isn't the only one), you know that!

[nate33]

Over in the Wall appreciation thread, I was looking at our salary next year. But, lets look at the roster -- on the assumption that things go really well -- for next year.

Lets assume that Rui becomes, as nate thinks he might, an above average starter at PF - verging on a "star" - in a couple of years. And that Troy keeps developing well & becomes a solid starter at the 3. Of course, we should be confident, at least somewhat, in the continued development of Thomas Bryant.

With all that, we'd have a pretty good starting five, right?

PG -- John Wall
SF -- Bradley Beal
SF -- Troy Brown, Jr.
PF -- Rui Hachimura
C -- Thomas Bryant

Ish will still be with us, presumably (though, really, I hope we move him for a R2 pick at the trade deadline). & Suppose both Isaac Bonga & Jemerrio Jones blossom? We have our backup PG & SF & another 1-3 guy.

We haven't talked much at all about Garrison Matthews, whom we picked up post-draft & who has really good size & shooting skills at the 2. He's a 2-way this year. Maybe by next year, he'll become our backup behind Brad Beal? Then too, we've got both Justin Robinson & Admiral Schofield to work into the mix at the 1 & 2-3.

I don't have any confidence in Mo Wagner either as a 4 or a 5. But... we will have a mid-to-high lottery pick next year. Probably buy a R2 pick as well.

Roster starting to shape up?

Yes. I think the starting 5 is rock solid. They're good enough to be a mid-tier playoff team in the 2020-21 season. I'm real high on Hachimura and Bryant panning out to be solid starters or better.

I'm not quite as confident about Troy Brown. That 68% FT% scares me. If his shot never comes around, then he might merely be a 6th/7th man type of guy playing 20-25 minutes a night backing up the 1, 2 or 3. If he becomes a 37% 3-point shooter, then he's a quality starter.

Assuming all of our non-guaranteed guys are cut (Wagner, Bonga, Robinson and Booth), and assuming we land the #6 pick or so, we will have a payroll of roughly $100M for 9 players (the starters plus Ish, Schofield, our lotto pick and the MEM 2nd). The salary cap projects to be around $117M.

It'll be interesting to see what Sheppard does with that $17M in cap room. The Ish/Sato swap this offseason suggests he is trying to maintain flexibility for 2021, which would mean we'd look for one-year deals - possibly buying picks in the process. On the other hand, if the Beal situation is unresolved, he's may want to field a strong enough team to get us back into the playoff race in the 2020/2021 season to convince Beal to resign in 2021. And that would mean using the $17M on one or two good veterans.

I think the Beal situation will dictate the rest of the Summer 2020 strategy. If Beal resigns, then we will keep our powder dry for the 2021 free agency class, and possibly look to trade Wall in the meantime. If Beal won't resign by Summer 2020, then he will be traded and we will proceed with a total rebuild.

[DCZards]

Raf got inbetween it lol

I'm crawling back into my hole.

Now, come on Raf!! At least you ought to admit that you got that "don't get cute" thing all wrong. Looking at how Ainge operates (& he isn't the only one), you know that!

…or maybe you should admit that the style and tone of your replies to the opinions of others is one of the reasons some people don’t post here anymore. Or post far less often.

PIF, you do a great job of getting conversations started on this board and keeping them going. And you're clearly a smart, throrough guy. But you have yet to realize that the belittling, condescending tone you often use toward others is detrimental to this online community.

You can do better…at least I hope you can.

[Rafael122]

I'm crawling back into my hole.

Now, come on Raf!! At least you ought to admit that you got that "don't get cute" thing all wrong. Looking at how Ainge operates (& he isn't the only one), you know that!

…or maybe you should admit that the style and tone of your replies to the opinions of others is one of the reasons some people don’t post here anymore. Or post far less often.

PIF, you do a great job of getting conversations started on this board and keeping them going. And you're clearly a smart, throrough guy. But you have yet to realize that the belittling, condescending tone you often use toward others is detrimental to this online community.

You can do better…at least I hope you can.

I just don't care enough about the topic to go back and forth. I won't agree with him, and he won't agree with me, so let's just agree to disagree and move on.

[Illmatic12]

Read on Twitter

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[payitforward]

I'm crawling back into my hole.

Now, come on Raf!! At least you ought to admit that you got that "don't get cute" thing all wrong. Looking at how Ainge operates (& he isn't the only one), you know that!

…or maybe you should admit that the style and tone of your replies to the opinions of others is one of the reasons some people don’t post here anymore. Or post far less often.

PIF, you do a great job of getting conversations started on this board and keeping them going. And you're clearly a smart, throrough guy. But you have yet to realize that the belittling, condescending tone you often use toward others is detrimental to this online community.

You can do better…at least I hope you can.

Missed this...

Zards -- a) i heard you on this topic a long time ago. First point -- what you call a condescending tone was never intended that way (well, rarely, anyway). Second -- I now reread every post before hitting "Submit", trying to avoid coming off that way.

Thus, in the post of mine to which you replied above... where's the "belittling" quality in that? It's not there. Moreover, Raff's subsequent response shows that he didn't take it that way (& I'm glad -- b/c I can't see how he would!).

Above all... please don't make me responsible for people not posting here, man. I'm not. I had big arguments w/ I_Like_Dirt, & if anything he posts more than ever. JWiz & I tussled, & it didn't keep him away. Etc. etc. etc.

I wish CCJ posted more; I think it's a good community for him. But if he doesn't it's not on account of me. LyricalRico ditto.

I could be wrong, but I hope I'm not. I doubt there are either fewer posts or fewer posters here than there used to be.

[payitforward]

Read on Twitter

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The article mirrors what many people (including some here) have said about Rui's weaknesses. At the same time, it notes progress & offers reasons for optimism.

Every rookie comes into the league with lots of things he has to get better at. &, since how good a player a guy becomes depends precisely on that unknown of future development, no one knows the outcome. All you can do is spin a narrative that makes sense to you about the future. In Rui's case, "he hasn't been playing the game very long, so...." But, of course, your narrative doesn't make anything happen! So... we'll wait & see.

To me, R.J. Barrett, Rui, & Reddish were all picked too high.

OTOH, some guys looked like they were tremendous bargains where they were picked -- Clarke (obviously), Keldon Johnson & Bitadze. Other guys, who I'd never have picked high, were clearly worth rolling the dice on, at the spots where they were grabbed, just for their upside: e.g. Nasir Little & Kevin Porter (or, Bol Bol down at 44 -- to take the most obvious example). Again... "we'll see."

From my POV, if you're the Wizards, with only 5 players, one of whom is out for the coming season -- meaning that you have lots of roster room -- & you can trade the #9 pick so that somehow you come out of the draft with, say, Brandon Clarke, Keldon Johnson, Bol Bol, & Quinndary Weatherspoon (something like that anyway) -- you'd be nuts not to do it. Independent of how you project Rui.

I could be quite wrong, of course. I'll be the first to point it out if I am. In the meantime, I hope Rui becomes a stud.

[Illmatic12]

Way too early to say who was a “bargain” and who wasn’t .. none of them have played an NBA minute yet!

[prime1time]

These interviews for a Japanese audience are fascinating. Way different than your normal NBA interview.

Watch on YouTube

He says his mean goal is to get his body ready for the NBA season. He's working out/lifting weights twice a day and is also working on his shooting and playing basketball in between. All in all, he's just a locked in.

[payitforward]

Way too early to say who was a “bargain” and who wasn’t .. none of them have played an NBA minute yet!

Absolutely! That must be why I wrote "looked like..." huh?

[nate33]

I had a thought the other day when thinking of possible NBA comps to Rui Hachimura. Why not Jason Tatum?

Think about it. They're both 6-8 with large wingspans (Tatum's is 6-11, Rui's is 7-2). They both thrive in the midrange. They both were successful scorers in college with some questions about their defense and their ability to be effective within the context of a team system. Tatum was a more willing 3-point shooter in college, but not necessarily a much better one. And FIBA Rui seems to be a pretty competent 3-point shooter as well. The big difference between the two is that Hachimura is 20 pounds heavier and stronger than rookie Tatum and he is 2 years older. Here's a comparison of their college stats:



Tatum went on to have a very productive rookie year and was runner up ROY behind Simmons. To be fair, part of Tatum's success in his rookie season was due to unsustainably hot 3P shooting (43%). In Tatum's somewhat disappointing 2nd NBA season (disappointing because it wasn't much better than his rookie season), Tatum's 3P shooting was a more believable 37%, but his rebounding improved thanks to more strength, and the rest of his game improved incrementally due to experience.

Hachimura seems even more NBA ready to me given his more developed body. I don't see why he can't have a rookie season roughly equivalent to Tatum's 2nd season. It might take him a couple of months to adapt to the speed of the NBA game, but once it slows down a bit for him, I think he'll be quite good. I really hope Brooks makes sure to give him 24-30 minutes a night and play through his mistakes.